By Jacob Nakamura
(Tumon, Guam) There is a new case of COVID-19 in Saipan. This news comes on the heels of exponentially-expanded testing capacity in the Commonwealth due to the arrival of 25,000 tests and a machine capable of processing 4,000 tests a day.
The machine is by PerkinElmer, which in March received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to run tests using its protocol, according to news from Standard & Poors Global. This is despite an earlier assertion to the contrary by the government of Guam.
There now are 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, though the CNMI Governor's Office did not make clear how many tests were run today. According to the information from the governor's office, the tests were run at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Laboratory using the Abbot ID Now testing platform.
According to the information, one of the infected is a child; four are between the ages of 20 and 49; seven are between the ages of 50 and 64; and two are 65 years or older.
